Railway-brake indicator



rB. HASKELL.

vRAILWAY BRAKE INDICATOR.

APPLlcATloN rylLEo nc.23. 1920.'

1,391,895. -Patentedsept; 27,1921.

` existing ,described and in Fig. 4. i i

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, 10 represents BRODERICK HASKELL, OF FRANKLIN, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY-BRAKE INnicAToR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented s epaav, 1921.

Application filed December 23, 1920. Serial No. 432,846.

To all wiz-0m t may concern Be it known that I, BRODERICILHASKELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Franklin, in the county of Venango and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway- Brake Indicators, of which the following is a speciiication.

The invention relates to railway brakes and more particularly to an attachment theretohaving for its purpose yto indicate at a glance, whether the piston. travel is properlyand efiiciently adjusted ,or in need of adjustment. y

The object of the invention is to provide a device of the character referred to which can be quicklyl and cheaply applied to all form's and arrangements of brakes operated by coperating brake cylinders and pistons therein. c

AY further object .of thev invention is to construct and arrange the several parts of the attachment so that the indicator will be visible at all times from either'side of the car, veasily installed, inspected, repairedl or set, and at the same time warn or indicate the excessive travel of the piston controlling the applicationof the brakes to the wheels of the car. Y

Other objects and advantages of the in-l vention will readily appear from the detailed description of the construction, arrangement and operation of the same.

. The invention consists'of structural characteristics and'relative arrangements of elements which will be hereinafter more V`fully particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings in which similar reference characters indicatev thek samey parts in vthe Several ,figures vvFigure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a car body showing one lform of the indicator as applied to the airbrake appliances.

4Fig. 2 is anend View .of the car body and invention as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional and plan view taken on lineIII-III yof Fig. 2.

c Fig. 4 is a fragmentary and top plan view of ai modified form of the invention, andr Fig. 5 is a side view of the form shown the lower sectionof theV car body to the underside of the bottom of which is secured 'said arms 19 and 2O the usual air brake cylinder 11 having a piston 11 and piston rod 12 to4 vwhich is secured the lever 13 connected t o the common and well known form of brake applying devices, not shown, and need no further disclosure for the clear understanding of the present invention. Secured to the underside of the bottom of the car 10 are arranged preferably two brackets or hangers 111,' 14 in which is rotatably supported an outer tube 15 having within its Y bore a rotatable shaft or rod 16 slightly longer than the tube 15 and having its ends extending beyond the ends ofthe tube 15 as clearly shown in Fig. 3. At the outer ends of said rotatable outer tube `15 and inner rod y16 are rigidly secured blades or semaphores 17 and 18 preferably of different length, the shorter blade 17 being attached to the tube 15 as shown andy may be colored white, while .the outer and longer blade 18.. may be green for purposes to be presently described. At the inner ends of said tube 15 androd 16 are securely attached oscillatory arms 19 and 20 of diiierent length, the shorter arm 19 attached to the tube 15, while the longer arm 20 is fixed to rod 16, being so disposed and arranged as to oscillate in vertical planes parallelto and in proximity to the axis lof 'the piston rod 12 as will be seen by reference to Fig. 3.

21 is an ,adjustable bracket or support securely clamped on the piston rod' 12 and preferably extending at right angles therefrom toward the said arms 19 and 20 in the position asshown. Referring to Figs. .tand 5 the cylinder 11,

pistonrod`12, and lever 13 are in the same Y oscillatory arms 19 and' 20 and of such constructionas to support of diiferent. length or movablysupported on a bracket 24 secured to one end of the cylinder 11 as shown. e

V The parts beingconstructed and arranged as shown in Figs. `1, 2 and 3, the manner of using and operating the invention'k is as follows:` When the air. is admitted into. the

e cylinder llkto apply the brakes to the car wheels, the piston 11 moves to the right and carries with it the rod 12 and attached bracket 21, and should said piston 11 and bracket .2l move to such an extent that said bracket 21 moves beyond the free or outer end of the arm 19, saidl arm 19 will be free to drop into a vertical position by the action of gravity, causing the outer tube 15 to partially rotate in its brackets la, 111 and cause the attached outer blade or semaphore 17 also to assume a vertical position, thus indicating to the car brake inspector that the piston 11, piston rod 12, with its attached brake operating mechanism are approaching the limit of travel. Should'the bracket 21. in applying the brakes, move beyond the end of the arm 20, due to the wear of the brake shoes, then the arm 2O will drop carrying with it by means of the rod 16 the outer blade or semaphore 18, thus indicating that the brake operating mechanism is about to fail or has failed to perform its functions, and piston travel and brake slack should be immediately attended to and reduced.

AAfter proper repairs or adjustments have been effected, the bracket 21 is again arranged in such a position on the rod 12 to properly support and carry the arms 19 and 2O as heretofore described.

The operation of the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is substantially the same and is as follows:

The parts being arranged as shown, if the piston rod 12` is moved to the right the rod 23 carries with it the series of pivotally supported blades 22, 22, and as the extent of movement of the rod 12 increases in applying the brakes, said blades drop one by one, and the outer or shortest blade first, as shown in Fig. 5, followed by each successive longer blade, and hence will also readily and quickly indicate the amount of piston travel. Vhen it is seen that the innermost or longest blade 22 is next to drop, adjustments and repairs heretofore indicated are required to be made to restore the braking devices for safety and eiiicient operation.

From the foregoing disclosure of construction and arrangement of the different elements comprising the indicator and manner of applying and operating the same, it will be seen that all the objects, functions and advantages set forth in the statement of invention have been fully and efficiently carried out with a minimum number .of parts and cost of manufacture, installation and operation.

It will also be understood and is obvious that various other forms and modification `of the indicator would readily suggest themselves and may be made without departing from the essential features and underlying principles of my invention, and I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the specific and preferred constructions herein shown and described.

What I claim is:

1. An air brake indicator in combination with a. brake cylinder provided with a piston and piston rod, comprising a pivoted drop signal arm, means interposed between said piston rod and signal arm and operated by the movement of thepiston for controlling the position of said signal arm and indicate the extent of travel of said piston in the cylinder.

2. An air brake indicator in combination with a brake cylinder provided with a piston and piston rod, comprising a plurality of separate andv independent drop signal arms, means interposed between said piston rod and signal arm and operated by the movement of the piston for controlling the position of said signal arms and indicate the extent of travel of said piston in the cylinder. y

3. An air brake indicator in combination with a brake cylinderprovided with a piston and piston rod, comprising a pivoted 90 drop signal arm, means for supporting said signal arm in an elevated position, and means on the rod for displacing said signal arm from the means supporting the same and said arm be free to assume a position indicating the extent of travel of said piston in the cylinder.

1. An air brake rindicator in combination with a brake cylinder provided with a piston and piston rod, comprising a pivoted drop signal arm, means for supporting the free end of said signal arm, and means operated by the movement of the piston for disengaging said signal arm from the means vsupporting the .same and said arm be free to assume a position indicating the extent of travel of said piston in the cylinder.

5. An air` brake indicator in combination `with a brake cylinder provided with a Apiston and piston rod, comprising aplurality of separate and independent pivoted signal arms, means for supporting the free ends of said signal arms in an elevated position, and means operated by the movement of the piston for disenaging the free ends of said signalarms from the means supporting the same.

6. An air brake indicator in combination with a brake cylinder provided .with a pis-p ton and piston rod, comprising a vplurality of separate and independent pivoted signal arms of different length, means for supporting the free ends of said signal arms in an elevated position, and means operated by` i the movement of the piston for disengaging the free ends of said signal arms from the means supporting the same.

7. An air brake indicator in combination with a brake cylinder provided with a, pis-A ton and piston rod, comprising a plurality 13-0 of separate and independent pivoted signal arms of dilferent length, mea-ns for supporting the free ends of said signal arms in an elevated position, and means operatedV by the movement of the piston for successively disengag'ing the free ends of said signal arms from the means supporting the same.

8. An air brake indicator in combination with a brake cylinder provided With a piston and piston rod, comprising a plurality of separate and independent pivoted signal arms of diii'erent length and'in juXtaposi tion to each other, means for supporting the free ends of said signal arms in an elevated position, and means operated by the movement of the piston for disengaging the free ends of said signal arms from the means supporting the same.

9. An air brake indicator in combination With a brake cylinder provided with a piston and piston rod, comprising a plurality of separate and independent pivoted signal arms of different length and arranged'in line and in juxtaposition to each other, means for supporting the free ends of said signal arms in an elevated position, and means operated by the movement of the piston for disengaging the free ends of said signal arms from the means lsupporting the same. p

In testimony whereof I aHiX my signature.

` BRODERICK HASKELL. 

